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“They were one of the most iconic couples of the nineties,” says author Amy Odell of Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt. Both gorgeous, glamorous — and for a time, sporting the same shag haircut.
Odell shares new details about their romance in her new book Gwyneth: The Biography, a revealing look at the fascinating life of the 52-year-old star, excerpted exclusively in this week’s PEOPLE.
The two first met in 1993 when Paltrow auditioned for the romantic western Legends of the Fall. She didn’t get the part (Julia Ormond did) but sparks flew and Pitt later suggested her for the role of his wife in the 1995 thriller, Se7en.
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At the time, Paltrow was also offered a role in Feeling Minnesota opposite Keanu Reeves. Unsure of which one to accept, writes Odell, “She consulted with a friend, who said, ‘Well, who do you want to date, Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves?’ Gwyneth chose Se7en and Pitt, and Cameron Diaz took the Feeling Minnesota part.”
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After two years of dating, they became engaged in Argentina in December 1996.
“Her dad [Bruce Paltrow] loved Brad,” says Odell. “Her friends loved Brad. They thought he was the nicest guy.”
Still, according to the author, Paltrow was having misgivings. “Gwyneth expressed doubts to a crew member [while making the 1996 film Emma] that Pitt was right for her, and admitted she had a crush on Hugh Grant.”
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“He was brought up very religious, in Missouri,” says Odell. “It’s just a very different world from hers, growing up in Manhattan, going to Spence, I think she thought he wasn’t sophisticated enough for her. She thought she was smarter, better educated, more sophisticated.”
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The book also recounts an interview Paltrow once gave about the chasm between their worlds. “Brad and I have very different upbringings,” she told an interviewer. “So when we go to restaurants and order caviar, I have to say to Brad ‘This is beluga and this is osetra.’”
They broke up in mid 1997. When Paltrow appeared on Call Me Daddy podcast in 2023, she explained that she called off their engagement because she wasn’t ready to marry, noting she was still “totally heartbroken when we broke up.”
“It was the right thing at that time, but it was really hard,” Paltrow explained. “There were a number of things that had happened, he was nine years older than me — he knew what he wanted, he was ready to do it and I was kind of all over the place.”
“So it was really one of those difficult things, where I felt like, ‘Oh my God, not only am I not ready, I’m not living up to the standards again.’ It was a familiar refrain I felt about myself,” she added.
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Gwyneth: The Biography hits shelves on July 29 and is available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
